Steam-driven air-compressor.



D. A. REAGEN.

STEAM DRIVEN AIR COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23. 1915.

1,215,192, Patented Feb. 6,1917.

STEAM-DRIVEN AIR-COMPRESSOR.

Application filed June 23, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOMINICK A. Rnncnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Altoona, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Steam-Driven Air-Compressors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steam driven air compressors such as are used upon locomotives for compressing air to operate the brake system, the object of the present invention being to exclude dust, cinders, dirt and other foreign matter, preventing the same from coming into contact with the piston rod which connects the engine piston with the air compressing piston, at the same time giving ready access to said piston rod and the stuffing boxes contained in what is known as the center piece or connecting yoke between the engine cylinder and the cylinder of the air compressor.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in sec tion of an engine driven air compressor, showing this invention applied thereto Fig. 2 is a cross section through the center piece on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the same line as Fig. 2 showing a sliding closure.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates the engine cylinder, 2 the cylinder of the air compressor, 3 the centerpiece or connecting yoke between the cylinders 1 and 2 and 4 the piston rod which connects the piston of the engine cylinder 1 and the piston of the cylinder 2 of the air compressor.

As is well known, the centerpiece 3 is left open at the front side for about one-third of the circumference thereof in order to allow for the escape of steam from the engine cylinder and also to give access to the stuffing boxes 5 and 6 of the cylinders 1 and 2,

' through which stuffing boxes the piston rod 4 reciprocates.

In carrying out the present invention, the stationary section 3 of the centerpiece is surrounded by a casing A and provided at various points with steam outlet nozzles 7 each of which is L-shaped with the outer dis- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917..

Serial No. 35,874.

charge end thereof extending downwardly. These nozzles are preferably arranged in annular series one above the other as indicated in Fig. 1. 8 designates a door or closure for the front or open side of the center-piece 3 which door may be either hinged to the centerpiece at one edge thereof as shown at 9 in Fig. 2 or arranged to slide horizontally around the stationary portion 3 of the centerpiece as shown in Fig. 3. At any time desired, the door 8 may be opened for the purpose of giving access to the interior of the centerpiece for any purpose. The door 8, as shown in Fig. 1 extends below the centerpiece and inclines outwardly so as to leave a steam outlet space 8', at the same time excluding dirt.

Fromthe foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the present invention will now be understood. As wear takes place in the stufling boxes 5 and 6, steam escapes from the cylinder 1 into the centerpiece 3 and is allowed to escape readily through the discharge nozzles 7 and the space 8 without passing through the lower stuffing box 6 into the cylinder of the air compressor. At the same time the nozzles 7 all facing in a downward direction prevent dirt, cinders, dust and other foreign matter from entering the centerpiece 3. This keeps the piston rod in a clean condition and greatly increases the life and durability of the steam driven air compressor as a whole.

What I claim is In a device of the class described, in combination a cylinder, a center piece separating the cylinder into a lower and upper section, said centerpiece having an open portion upon its front side and circumference and having a pair of vertically separated horizontal flanges extending outwardly of the wall of said cylinder, a relatively thin sheet metal circular member secured upon the flanges of said centerpiece so as to be spaced from the main body portion of the latter and provide an annular channel, a circumferentially spaced apart series of upper and lower outlet nozzles, secured upon said centerpiece and having terminal, clownturned portions placed in advance of said sheet metal member, and a door hingedly connected upon said plate with its lower edge extending below the lowest flange of said center piece, said door being angularly in In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature clined outwardly of said center piece so as in presence of two witnesses. to be spaced with its lower edge at a greater DOMINIOK A. REAGEN. 1 distance from the lower flange of the center WVitnesses: V 7 V 5 piece than it is spaced at its upper edgev V E. H. FLIN,

' from the upper flange. P. M. SWANGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. i. 

